


I feel the love and I feel it burn Down this river, every turn (Everything that drowns me makes me wanna fly)

by spideytorch_parkner



Category: Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four (Comicverse)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Aquaphobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:41:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25135558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spideytorch_parkner/pseuds/spideytorch_parkner
Summary: Johnny grinned, before turning back to the fight.And was immediately greeted with, “Target; Johnny storm. Weapon; extinguishing foam.”Too late, Johnny registered what the bot said. And that it was bad news.
Relationships: Ben Grimm & Johnny Storm, Ben Grimm & Reed Richards & Johnny Storm & Susan Storm, Johnny Storm & Susan Storm, Reed Richards & Johnny Storm, Reed Richards/Susan Storm (Fantastic Four)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 46





	I feel the love and I feel it burn Down this river, every turn (Everything that drowns me makes me wanna fly)

**Author's Note:**

> The title is from Counting Stars, a good song. Sorry for this yall, but ive been watching the FF show and i cant stop thinking about aquaphobic johnny storm, so i had to write this.

Johnny groaned.

Ben's voice came up over comms.  
“Getting tired already Matchstick?” He taunted, and Johnny flipped him off from 30 feet above the bridge.

Ben and Reed were on the bridge, battling doom bots, enough of them to last a lifetime. Sue was helping civilians escape while keeping the bridge up, and Johnny was trying to draw the bots away from the crowd, and into the skies.

It was going fairly well, Johnny had to break off to fix one of the beams, which allowed Sue to drop her fields and fight full force, and Johnny grinned as she beat on the bots.

Reed wrapped his arms around 3 bots, slamming them together. “Focus, Johnny. I know you are fired up- no, that wasn't a pun- but we need to be careful, Doom wouldn’t just attack carelessly. There's got to be a reason.”

Johnny blasted a bot behind him

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'll leave all the tech junk and planning to you. I'm gonna melt some bots.”

Reed hummed in agreement and Johnny took off, chasing down a bot that was headed for Ben. He melted it into a green-and-silver blob.

“Hey Suzie,” Ben's voice rang in Johnny's ear, “need any help over there? You look a bit tied up.”

Johnny directed his gaze to sue, and, sure enough, she was surrounded by doom bots.

“That would be helpful!” His sister's voice called out. She made a field around one bot and crushed it. Ben threw a couple doom bots into the river, then took off towards Sue.

Johnny was about to follow ben to her, when something caught his eye

Flying towards Manhattan was a doom bot that looked suspiciously unlike the rest of them. It was sleeker, seemingly without all the weapons and bulky armor.

He watched it for a minute, before realizing where it was heading. Ah, damnit.

Below, Ben and Reed were cleaning up the rest of the bots on the bridge. Reed looked up at Johnny's hovering figure.

He spoke up. “Johnny, we could use a little-“

“The baxter building.”

“What?” 

Johnny kept his gaze fixed on the bot, still dodging attacks and destroying the bots flying around him. 

“There's a doombot heading towards the baxter building.” 

Johnny could hear reed thinking from 30 feet above the man. 

“Sue, would you mind..?” He looked over at his wife.

She made a platform beneath her feet, watching as Ben clambered onto it.

“No problem. Johnny?”

“I'll keep the skies clear for you and finish up here, get it.” He blasted a bot and waved at her as she took off.

She smiled at him as she passed, and he smiled back, before sticking his tongue out at Ben behind Sue's back, who showed him a particularly large and rocky middle finger. 

Sue smacked Ben's hand and they took off, chasing after the bot. The man had the decency to look ashamed as Sue shook her head. “Children.”

Johnny grinned, before turning back to the fight.

And was immediately greeted with, “Target; Johnny storm. Weapon; extinguishing foam.”

Too late, Johnny registered what the bot said. And that it was bad news.

Before he could torch the bot, he was hit with a face full of green foam.

And his flames spluttered and died out.

Right over the river.

He plummeted, hearing Reed’s cry of “JOHNNY” before his com flew out, and he thrashed around, crashing into the water

He sank, a dull pain on his back and leg where he hit the surface. Bubbles floated around him, and the water got dark the more he sank.

The foam dissipated around him, but no flames would survive there, and Johnny felt his chest tightening, panic filling his throat- or was that water, he couldn't tell-

Without knowing which way was up or down, unable to see, to breathe, to use his powers, he felt helpless. Weak. Afraid. 

He kicked futilely, trying to find some purchase, some breath of air, but there was nothing, no sound accompanying his screams, no heat in the harsh cold, just water, filling his lungs, crushing him with darkness.

Bubbles floated from his mouth as he tried to shout, for anyone, anything, HELP, but it was too late. His limbs stopped moving and his eyes fluttered.

His vision started to black, and he felt himself sink, resigned to oblivion. Something tightened around his arm, and he blacked out.

—————

His eyes opened and he shot up, instantly regretting it as he retched and coughed, lungs heaving for air. 

He looked around. He was in the Baxter building. He slumped back on the bed in relief, head pounding even as the pain in his chest subsided. Sue rushed to his side, gripping his arm and leaning over him. Reed hurried over after her, doing something, scanning johnny or talking to herbie. Ben stood off in the background, a grim look on his face. Hah. Grim.

Sue's voice came into focus and he looked at her.

“Johnny? Johnny, are you alright?” Her voice was laced with worry. Her hair was a mess, and she looked like she hadn't slept. She probably didn't. Johnny could tell by the large marking on hens computer it was the next day.

He smiled weakly, coughing a little. “Never been better big sis.”

She smiled, eyes glistening, and pulled him into a hug. He grunted, the angle a little awkward, but she wrapped his arms around her and patted her back.

Reed looks like he wanted to do the same, which, surprisingly human for reed. Johnny didn't know he had it in him. 

Instead, Sue grabbed Reed's arm, pulling him into the hug whether he wanted it or not. He hesitated, then patted Johnny's arm and rested his head on Sue's shoulder.

Johnny chuckled wetly.

“Aww, i didn't know you guys cared.”

Ben snorted. Then frowned.

“Shut it, flamebrain. You gave us a good scare, nearly drowning and shit.” He sounded angry, but not at johnny. The teen would bet the bot that hit him got a taste of its own medicine, and more.

Johnny shuddered at the memory. Being blasted with the green foam, falling endlessly into those murky depths. There's a reason he hates water.

He frowned.

“How did you get me out? Weren't you all busy?”

Sue pursed her lips.

“Well, after Ben destroyed the robot, which, good call, it was attempting to steal information from Reeds lab, we headed back to the bridge. It hadn’t taken very long so we expected to help you two finish up the fight.”

Ben picked the story up as she fussed with Johnny's hair. He knew she was just trying to keep her cool. He grimaced. They may fight a lot, but they were siblings. It couldn't have been easy for her to see him hurt like that. He knows it's never easy for him when Sue gets hurt.

“We were expecting to tell stretch about the bot and watch him freak out. Not watch him, limbs stretched to the bottom of a nasty New York river, reappearing with a half-dead Johnny in his arms.”

Johnny winced, wondering if he had looked as horrible it had felt. And trust him, it had felt really shitty.

“Yeah, well, i don't plan on going swimming again any time soon. So you don't have to worry about lil ol’ me.”

Sue frowned at him, still messing with his hair. . “We were worried, johnny! You almost drowned, we were so scared, i was so scared i lost you, i-“

Hey sat up, pulling her into a hug, holding her close to him. She wrapped her arms around his back and shoulders and buried her face in his neck. He felt her relax minutely as he set warm hands on her back. 

“Im okay, sue. You aren't gonna lose me. You guys are stuck with me, whether you like it or not.”

“Ain't that the truth.” Ben smiled, no real malice behind the words

Johnny smiled around at them. 

They were a family. A weird, dysfunctional, disaster family with all sorts of issues and problems and arguments. And they were the best family Johnny ever had.

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me any thoughts or if you find mistakes!


End file.
